Maddalena Restaurant (San Antonio Winery)

Kind of a strange thing to say, but as far as the San Antonio Winery goes…there are better places to get yourself some wine. There are better places to get yourself some grub. There are better places where you can do both. (Santa Monica’s The Wine House and Upstairs 2 comes to mind). Yet there is a sentimental hold that this place has on the city. (Not on me, mind you…the city). From what I hear, if there is a retirement celebration held for any member of the L.A.P.D., it is held here.

The place itself is lovely. Beautiful wooden buttresses stretching up into the ceiling. Oak barrel shaped sky lights. The place also does a lot of business. The Winery in the name isn’t just a name. They are a full fledged Winery making their own stuff. Come in on a weekend, and you will find a lot of people vying for a lot of wine.

That being said, it’s not the best stuff in the world. For that, go to K&L in Hollywood, go to The Wine House. The loveliness of the establishment kinda goes out the window when I saw their plastic-coated demonstration food (which I never trust outside of a Japanese establishment)

Maybe I’m looking at it wrong. Maybe I should see this as Training Wheels for new Wine Enthusiasts. Maybe after seeing Sideways for the first time, your first thought is to come here instead of heading up to Santa Barbara for the weekend, to the place…you know…where the movie was actually filmed.

Lord, that’s a depressing thought.

WHAT SHOULD I GET?: A glass of their wine isn’t gonna kill ya. Nor is it going to make you fall in love with the joint. It is what it is.

IMPORTANT SAFETY TIP, PEOPLE: Let’s put it this way, I have someone I consider a genuine Sommelier who writes for this site. My own wine expertise is minimal, and I could tell the Wine Selection was at best okay. San Antonio Winery was about at the level of say Whole Foods or CostPlus World Market. Better than Target, sure, but that ain’t saying much.

PARKING: Convenient enough. San Antonio Winery has their own lot. Not a lot of spaces, so I can imagine it getting crowded. But I went on a Saturday when it was crowded, and easily found a space.